Most health experts agree probiotics can improve your health, but knowing how to take probiotics to reap the most benefit is important.
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria strains that can help balance intestinal bacterial flora and prevent harmful bacteria from taking over.
ALERT: Weird Gut Bacteria Linked to Digestion, Heart, Obesity, Brain Problems
According to Jillian Michaels, one of the most well-known health and wellness experts and TV personalities, it is best to take probiotics with food.
When the stomach is empty, it is a highly acidic environment that is not hospitable to live beneficial bacteria. Large numbers of them can be killed off in an empty stomach. Eating makes the stomach less acidic, which allows more of the bacteria to make their way to the intestines.
Probiotics are measured in colony-forming units or CFUs. Because the human digestive tract contains literally trillions of bacteria, it will require billions of probiotics to make a positive impact.
Most probiotics contain between 1 billion and 15 billion CFUs, and the amount you should take depends on your specific needs.
SPECIAL: Doctor: You Can Stop Digestion Woes, Heartburn, Gas, Constipation, More
For example, to simply maintain a healthy GI tract, a dose of 1 billion or 2 billion CFUs daily will suffice,
says Probiotics 101. If you have just completed a course of antibiotics that has altered your gut flora, you may want to take as many as 10 billion to 15 billion CFUs for a time to restore the proper balance.
The total daily probiotic intake works best when split up and taken in three or four doses throughout the day, says Michaels.
All probiotics are not the same. There are many different strains, and the ones that are right for you depend on your specific health concern.
When considering how to take probiotics, Dr. David Williams, a chiropractor, researcher, and wellness expert, advocates choosing a supplement that contains many different strains rather than choosing based solely on CFUs. He believes the best supplements contain at least the following three important probiotic strains: L. acidophilus, B. Longum, and B. bifidum.
A natural health advisor can help you find the right probiotics to take for your individual circumstances.
Doctor: Not All Probiotics Are the Same, Some Are Dangerous! Read More Here
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.